1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic metronome and a method of indicating a tempo of an electronic metronome used in, for example, practicing playing an instrument.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, with a view to expressing a pendular movement of a pointer of a mechanical metronome, there has been widely employed a method of expressing the pendular movement by arranging a plurality of light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes or liquid crystal segments along a line and lighting them up sequentially from one end to the other (e.g., as disclosed in JP 2000-88977 A (pages 1 to 17, FIG. 2)). Further, there has also been devised and put into practice a technique of reproducing a movement similar to the pendular movement with a small number of light emitting elements by changing the illuminances of the light emitting elements in accordance with a tempo (e.g., as disclosed in JP 09-133779 A (page 1, FIG. 4)).
A conventional electronic metronome imitates the movement of a baton of a mechanical metronome display-wise, but emits a sound when either terminal one of light emitting diodes or liquid crystal segments imitating the locus of a baton is lit up. For structural reasons, however, the actual mechanical metronome emits a sound not when the baton making a pendular movement stops at either end but shortly before it reaches the other end during the pendular movement. Therefore, if someone accustomed to the baton movement and sound emission timing of the mechanical metronome uses the electronic metronome, he or she may feel a sense of discomfort in keeping up with a tempo.